Course:KIN355/2020 Projects/Time/ Rate of Movement

Defining the Concept and Its Importance

The category of time in effort awareness refers to the rate of movement and the duration the movement is sustained for. It is one of the three basic movement concepts in human motor development. It covers speeds of fast/ slow and sudden/ sustained movements. Early in development, children can grasp the two ends of the spectrum for speed (i.e. quick and slow). As they develop, they begin to explore movements in between the two extremes.

When designing movement programs for children, it is crucial to understand that this critical period is important for cognitive development (Bidzan-Bluma & Lipowska, 2018). As children grow, they begin to view themselves as an object in space interacting with others in the world (Graham, Holt & Parker, 2013). In older children, it is expected that they have accumulated more movement experiences than a child in preschool. By manipulating components of physical activity, children are exposed to a variety of stimuli. Thus, contributing to the development of a child’s physical, cognitive, and social systems, and the creation of a strong foundation for an active lifestyle (Lubans, Morgan, Cliff, Barett & Okely, 2012).

By actively learning self-awareness, it allows the individual to be aware of their body, the transfer of body weight, and their location relative to other people and objects (Graham et al., 2013). At a young age, it is difficult to isolate muscle growth. Compared to adults, children have an underdeveloped type two fibers (Dotan, Mitchell, Cohen, Klentrou, Gabriel & Falk, 2013). These fibers are typically in charge of rapid and powerful movements. The appropriate approach for physical activity in children is to challenge their cognitive, vestibular, and locomotor systems to ensure adequate development.

By manipulating task constraints, children can develop a more wholistic approach to movement development (Newell, 1986). Thus, broadening movement possibilities. Developmental delays in gross motor movements can be present in children who did not grow up with adequate instructions for motor skills (Goodway & Branta, 2003). This poses a problem as children are unable to grow holistically in the realms of motor development.  

Role in Childhood Development and Contemporary Considerations

In the age of technological advancement and increase in sedentary behavior, it is common to see children not meeting the daily requirements of physical activity (Baranowski, 2019). Early physical activity integration in childhood sets the foundation to maintain a healthy lifestyle (Tucker, 2008). Nowadays it is common to see both parents and children struggling to find time for exercise.

Parents find physical activity barriers through the lack of access in outdoor activity spaces (Wilson, Loenneke, Jo, Wilson, Zourdos & Kim, 2012). Depending on the location of living, access to parks, playgrounds, and safe places are limited (Pratt, Van Fossen, Cotto-Maisonet, Palmer & Eneli, 2017). Combined with working tiring hours at their jobs, parents are finding a reduction in energy levels upon coming home (Wilson et al., 2012). With the day spent working, parents typically have limited time to fulfill household demands (Pratt et al., 2017). As a means of distraction, parents equip their children with electronics to keep them occupied while they do their work.

With all these factors combined, parents as educators are unable to have the time and effort to facilitate developmental play for their children. It becomes difficult because the lack of time means that play is not a priority. At school, curriculum based play yields less results than

By manipulating duration of movement and the speed at which movement is produced, it provides a set of requirements in the activity that the child must fulfill. For example, when playing manhunt with classmates, students are encouraged to sprint and chase after their friends to keep the game running. However, if we compare that to grounders, an activity where students keep their eyes closed and use their auditory and haptic senses to navigate, children have to move across the playground apparatus as stealthily and as safely as possible to avoid getting tagged by the person that is ‘it.’ The games and activities that educators or children employ operate under various parameters. Thus, becomes a more encompassing approach to the overall development of children.

Children who can develop body awareness at a young age are able to manipulate their bodies in ways that fulfill demands. By shifting between fast and slow movements, and sustained and sudden patterns, these developmental changes have a cascading effect onto other domains in movement development (Adolph & Franchak, 2017).

Practical Applications

Musical Tag

This game provides children the opportunity to practice effort awareness regarding time/rate of movement with auditory cues. Children will be tasked with transitioning between two rates of gross motor movement – walking and running, in varied length of times. The children will work on sustained movement as well as sudden movements during transitions. Practicing sudden transitions will be helpful in the development of type two muscle fibers which are responsible for rapid and powerful movements as stated above. The active nature of this game can also encourage increased physical health.

Target age

4-6+

Equipment/Environment

Speaker/phone or IPod, an open space

Instructions

The game begins by choosing one person to be “it”. The child who is “it” will chase their peers until successfully tagging one, thus passing the role of “it” on to the tagee.

An instructor will control the music and alternate between clips of songs that have a slow beat (Example: Can’t Stop Falling in Love – Elvis Presly) and songs which have a fast beat (Example: Sandstorm – Darude).

When a fast pace song is playing, children must run, when a slow pace song is moving children must walk – except for the person who is “it” will always be allowed to run, this will ensure that that one person will not be “it” for too long.

Modifications

This game can be played indoors or outdoors, and boundaries can be set depending on how many participants there are. If a speaker/radio is unavailable and space permits, the instructor can sing or make a beat with their hands on a surface. The songs can be adjusted into any length clips (15-60 seconds recommended).

Jot it Out!

This game is focused on developing a child’s effort awareness regarding time/rate of movement, particularly regarding fine motor skills. By using a game that includes writing, there is potential to combat the contemporary problem above, stating that a lack of access to outdoor facilities is preventative of physical activity – thus, hindering opportunity to develop effort awareness skills such as time/rate of movement. The purpose of this game is to increase a child’s ability to change the speed at which they write as well as practice following a strict time interval. Compared to Musical Tag, this game encourages development of time/rate effort awareness in an academic setting while offering a competitive environment in which improvements can be easily observed by the child themselves, a teacher or parent.

Target Age

5-6+

Equipment/Environment

Paper, pencil, timer/stopwatch, a surface to write on

Instructions

An instructor will choose a basic word that would be known to the entire population of participants (something like cat, sad or mad). They will then pick a time interval – generally from 20 to 60 seconds.

Once signaled, the children are tasked with writing that word as many times as possible in the given time. Be sure to monitor a unanimous stop when the time is completed. The person with the most words, correctly written, can be rewarded with a prize.

Modifications

If necessary, a single number or letter could be used to simplify this activity, rather than a word.

If played commonly within a steady population, the prize can be replaced with a tally that would lead up to a count and reveal for a larger prize. This would encourage active and equal engagement.

Summary

Knowing how the body moves from one point to another is referred to as effort awareness. Children first learn the concept of time and explore movements at the extremes—fast and slow. In order for children to learn to move between the extremes, they need to be given various movement opportunities, which also comes with age. Understanding body awareness (what the body can do), can connect to the understanding of how the body moves, in relation to time and rate of movement.

References

Adolph, K. E., & Franchak, J. M. (2017). The development of motor behavior. Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Cognitive science, 8(1-2). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1430

Baranowski, T. (2019). Increasing physical activity among children and adolescents: Innovative ideas needed. Journal of Sport Health Science, 8(1): 1-5. Doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2018.09.011

Bidzan-Bluma, I., Lipowska, M. (2018). Physical activity and cognitive functioning of children: A systematic review. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 15(4): 800. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15040800

Dotan, R., Mitchell, C., Cohen, R., Klentrou, P., Gabriel, D., & Falk, B. (2013). Child – adult differences in muscle activation – a review. Pediatric exercise science, 24(1), 2–21. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1123/pes.24.1.2

Lubans, D. R., Morgan, P. J., Cliff, D. P., Barett, L. M. & Okely, A. D. (2012). Fundamental movement skills in children and adolescents. Sports Medicine, 40: 1019-1035. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.2165/11536850-000000000-00000

Newell, K. M. (1986). Constraints on the development of coordination. Wade MG, Whiting TA. 341–360.

Pratt, K. J., Van Fossen, C., Cotto-Maisonet, J., Palmer, E. N., & Eneli, I. (2017). Mothers’ perspectives on the development of their preschoolers’ dietary and physical activity behaviors and parent-child relationship: Implications for pediatric primary care physicians. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 56, 766-775.

Tucker, P. (2008). The physical activity levels of preschool-aged children: A systematic review. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23(4): 547-558. Doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2008.08.005

Wilson, J.M., Loenneke, J. P., Jo, E., Wilson, G. J., Zourdos, M.C., & Kim, J. S. (2012). The effects of endurance, strength, and power training on muscle fiber type shifting. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 26(6): 1724-1729. doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e318234eb6f.